Blood Crimes
by kitkaat
Summary: Elena Gilbert should be happy. She's engaged to be married to her high school sweetheart, who is considered by everyone to be the perfect boyfriend. But with two months until the wedding, there's trouble brewing in paradise, and Elena finds herself seeking comfort in an unlikely source, who may, when things take a turn for the worse, be the only one who can help her. (AU / Delena)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First of all, I apologize for the vague summary and the possibly confusing title. Hopefully, it will all become clear fairly early on. **** This is a human AU, but I tried to throw in a few nods to the television show. ** And while Elena is engaged to Stefan, this is definetely a Damon/Elena story. Don't worry!

**Also, I, of course, do not own the Vampire Diaries.**

**Enjoy! And review if you'd like!**

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She didn't know why she'd done it. Maybe because of how close she was to her own brother or maybe because the idea of Stefan having a grand total of zero family members at his own wedding depressed her to no end. Or, possibly, because she couldn't imagine any conflict being serious enough to keep someone away from their only living relative for five years, and she was too curious for her own damn good.

Or maybe it was the fact that she had been on her fifth glass of pinot noir when Caroline had mentioned the "D" word, and once the thought was in her head, she couldn't help but drunkenly carry out her plan.

So maybe sending Damon a wedding invitation behind Stefan's back was wrong. But there had to have been a reason why Stefan kept his brother's address in the top drawer of his desk. She had barely had to snoop at all to find it. It was almost as if he'd considered sending the invite himself.

Or, at least, that's what she'd told herself as she slipped the envelope in the mailbox in the middle of the night. It had helped her sleep after she crawled into bed with her two best friends, Bonnie and Caroline. But the next morning, reality had set in, and it wasn't pretty.

"I betrayed him."

"He might not even come," Bonnie suggested reassuringly, pouring Elena another cup of steaming hot coffee.

"But he might," Caroline said, frowning at the other two girls, "and I don't think Stefan—"

"_Caroline_," Bonnie scolded. "Elena's upset enough already."

"Why didn't you stop me last night?" Elena groaned, clutching her aching head in her hands.

"I tried!" Caroline exclaimed, her frustration becoming more evident. "I really tried, Elena. But you just couldn't be stopped."

"Stefan's going to kill me."

"He will _not_," Bonnie placed a hand comfortingly on Elena's shoulder. "Stefan loves you. He'll forgive you."

_No, he won't,_ thought Elena, but she didn't say it aloud.

It had been selfish. Elena knew that. But part of her was incredibly annoyed that after five years of dating, Stefan still didn't trust her enough to explain why he hated his brother so much.

"We just don't talk, okay?" He'd say angrily when she tried to push. "You know the story."

But she didn't. Not really. Everyone knew he hated Damon, as he brought it up as often as he could. If there was a movie on with two brothers in it, Stefan would mention that he hated the one he had. If anyone brought up a sibling, he'd announce that his own was dead to him. She knew the basic story, sure: his father had died right before she met him, and his mother had died during childbirth, so that left Damon, his older brother by seven years, as his legal guardian. But they'd never gotten along, so Damon had up and left almost immediately. They hadn't spoken since. But according to Stefan, Damon's abandonment was not the source of his anger. He was actually grateful for that, referring to the act as "the only thing Damon ever did right."

Yet, he still kept his brother's address in his top desk drawer.

"Stefan _will_ forgive you," Bonnie repeated firmly, addressing the pained look on her best friend's face.

"Thanks," Elena mumbled, trying not to look in Caroline's direction.

But Caroline spoke anyway. "When I said I was curious as to how awful of a person Damon really was, I didn't mean you should find out."

"I get it, Care," Elena sighed. "I do. I fucked up."

"Maybe you can un-fuck-up!" Caroline suggested cheerily, her crystal blue eyes brightening the way they always did when she had a plan.

"You think?" Elena smiled weakly.

"Write him another letter," Caroline instructed. "Tell him you made a mistake. His address was in Stefan's address book, so oops! You invited him. But now you realize what you did, and you want him to know that he absolutely, one hundred percent shouldn't come. No one would come to a wedding they were uninvited from. That's just tasteless."

"Seems a little harsh…" Elena started, but Caroline shot a glare in her direction before she could say any more.

"You got yourself into this mess. Now you get yourself out." Gracefully, she took a sip of her coffee. "And quickly."

Elena sighed; Caroline was right. She had to act fast. Who knew what Damon would do? And Stefan was returning from his trip the following afternoon. She had to get the damned second letter sent before Stefan got home. She had to fix it.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry the first chapter was so short! Here's another. Hope you like it.**

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_To Whom It May Concern:_

_ I am sorry to inform you that the invitation to Stefan Salvatore's wedding was sent to you by error. Please disregard the information and do not RSVP._

_ Thank you._

Elena stared at the sheet of paper in front of her. It was so formal. So… cold. How was she supposed to sign that thing with her own name? _Sincerely, your brother's fiancée who you'll never get to meet?_ No. She tossed the paper aside and pulled out a fresh sheet. Take two.

_Dear Damon,_

_ I apologize for the unexpected invitation that was sent to you. It was a mistake. I understand that you have no interest in being present for your brother's wedding, so don't worry about sending an RSVP. I apologize again for the confusion._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Elena Gilbert_

She reread the short letter and sighed. Nothing sounded quite right. If only they sold "oops, I got drunk and sent you an invitation to the-brother-you-haven't-seen-in-five-year's wedding and now you're uninvited" card at Hallmark.

Carefully ripping apart her second draft, a thought crossed her mind. She shoved it away, silently scolding herself for being so ridiculous. But the thought reentered her mind, and she let it sit a moment.

Clearly, it was difficult to send a follow-up letter to Damon. However, if all that Stefan said was true, the chances of him actually showing up were slim. Who showed up to the wedding of someone they hated? After all, Damon had been the one who abandoned Stefan, not the other way around. He probably had no interest in returning and had shredded the damn thing the moment he received it. In which case, no follow up would be necessary.

The sound of the front door opening distracted her from her thought process. There were still twenty-four hours before Stefan was supposed to return. She jumped to her feet, heart pounding out of her chest. Standing on her toes, she quietly walked across the carpet and slid her head around the corner of the door frame.

"Elena!"

She breathed a sigh of a relief. Stefan had returned home early. Forgetting about the letter entirely, she allowed Stefan to wrap his arms around her and kiss her cheek gently. She offered a weak smile and slid her arms around his body.

"You're home early."

"That I am," he chuckled. "How was your girls' night?"

"Fun."

"Wonderful." He kissed the top of her head and pulled away from her weak embrace.

Unsure of what else to say, Elena played with her hands awkwardly. There had been a time when she would have run across the room and leaped into his arms to plant kisses all over his face. There also had been a time when he would have called to inform her that he was coming home early. Or called at all, for that matter.

"How was your trip?" She asked meekly, watching the man in front of her toss his keys on the kitchen table.

"It was very nice," he replied without bothering to look at her. "Very relaxing."

"Good."

The two stood there in silence for another moment before Stefan wandered into their bedroom and closed the door.

Elena closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying to blink back the tears in her brown eyes. But it was difficult not to wonder what the fuck had happened to her life. She remembered being happy once. When her parents were alive. When her _sister_ was alive. She remembered being happy with Matt. Really loving him. She remembered getting drunk off of cheap beer with Bonnie and Caroline and doing nothing but giggling, because they weren't drinking to hide from any pain; they were drinking to have fun. She remembered spending time with her big, happy family. She remembered the way her brother used to smile. Worst of all, though, she remembered how she never felt alone because no matter what happened, she had her twin sister. She had Katherine.

But then she had _needed_ to go to that stupid fucking party. Katherine hadn't even wanted to go, but Elena was dying to go with Matt. And, of course, she had regretted it almost immediately, so her parents had come to pick her up and for some awful reason, Kat had decided to tag along. And then they went off the bridge. She had woken up in the hospital sans three family members.

After that, everything changed. She had stopped being able to love Matt. Looking at him made her feel nothing but emptiness. Bonnie and Caroline had no longer been able to make her laugh. They were lucky to get a smile. Aunt Jenna was great to live with, but her presence would never make up for the huge gap in the house where Elena's parents used to be. And Jeremy never smiled. He had blamed her at first. Elena always knew that, even if he wouldn't say it. She loved her brother, and would have done anything for him. But all he seemed interested in for the first two years after the accident were drugs and avoiding the Hell out of Elena.

Five years later, not much had changed. Sure, she'd been happier for a while. But that was all because of Stefan. When she had met Stefan a few months after everything happened, he had made her feel hope. And she had really needed hope. But he had become more than that. More than just a helpful person to have in her life. He had become her crutch. Without him, she didn't know what to do with herself. But ever since he had proposed, she had felt the distance between them grow, and she wasn't sure that it was entirely his fault.

The problem was, if she was the one who was unsure about getting married, that would mean she would have to give up her crutch. The only person who had ever understood the kind of pain she had gone through. No one could understand loss if they hadn't been through it, and well, Stefan had. He had lost two parents and, though not to death, one sibling. Just like her.

She leaned against the kitchen counter, hoping Stefan would emerge from the bedroom and say something. Anything. But the tiny apartment remained silent.

In her misery, all thoughts of wedding invitations and estranged brothers left her mind. Unsure of what else to do, Elena began to cook dinner.


End file.
